Fallen stars of Lusina
by Skyperson
Summary: A man, lost in the forest, experiences many strange things that occur to him, including having a piece of leather sewn onto his mouth, and black ink marked in his hand. Follow him as he teams up with the woman of the North to help him reunite back to hise
1. Begin

**Chapter 1**

Run. Run fast. Faster. Fast like a Cheetah. Run fast like a Cheetah through the forest. Stop. Finally I stopped at the overhanging of a small drop off into the deep green forest which lied below me. I had a very odd and strange feeling of confusion. Why was I here? How did I get here? Why was I running? I took a deep, motionless breath. I put one foot closer, and closer to the edge until I was inches away from my death into the World below. It doesn't look too far. Almost like a broken record, that played constantly in my head as I stood there. I took one final step with my left foot, and put my Right foot beside to line up to toes of my feet. I put my weight onto the upper part of my body and leaned my head and chest over the edge. I felt a rush of adrenaline pass through my body. Wind, the cold crisp type came too. Before my senses could realize I am falling, I made a crash landing to the hard, moss filled ground.

The only feeling that I had was pure pain, and fear. As unconscious as I was, I was immune to the sounds around me. Dark and twisted sounds were everywhere. I had no idea where I was. A lonely, wet, and cold body lie flatly as the sounds lurked around my head. I heard howls, and cackles, and maybe even the piercing whine of an uncontrollable wolf. I was not sure if it was day or night, but all I could tell was that it was cold. The type of cold that makes you have Cabin fever, or lock yourself up in bed all afternoon, sleeping, while having the TV blabber on in the back ground, but you do not give a care for it. You are comfortable and warm, the direct opposite way of the terrain I was facing.

I got up from my lucent sleep, and awoke my eyes and found myself to be standing right in the middle of an ankle-high creek surrounded by large Ferns and ancient round Cedar trees covered in the Green moss covering the ground surrounding me. The trees and bushes, so very dense. An uncontrollable growth and mystery that barely anybody knows about. Have humans been here before? It doesn't seem like it in my opinion. I walked forward, taking caution with every step I would make as I ventured through this unknown land. The jacket I was wearing, much too thin for the weather outside right now. A thin, black leather jacket with a tee shirt underneath are the only things covering up my body.

Slowly I made progress towards an opening far at the end of the grove of trees. I staggered all of my energy into getting out of this hell-hole of a forest and out into an opening which hopefully someone would come and get me out of here. I started to feel dizzy, almost as if I were to pass out once again into the cold and damp Earth. I stumbled loosing control of the balance in my body. My spine is aching with an intense feeling of it to be on fire, I think I made a fracture in it. With time, I could see the progress I had made from the creek, and I felt good about that.

More quickly than I could realize, my mind was going blank, and my eyes had just about shut, and I was in a dark, twisted sleep.


	2. Mystery

**Chapter 2 **

Up. Wake up. Open your eyelids. Wake your mind. I stood up, groggy from my previous day's torturous rest that has been provided by who ever would enjoy to punish me like this. Hell. This is the definition of Hell. A sharp pain passed through my hand. In a quick painful motion I lifted it only inches from my face, and saw blackness all through it, almost as if I was a miner in a Coal Mine. The odd factor to it though, was it looked like someone came and painted on it, in a pattern of black. After staring at my hand for a while in awe, I started to see zig zags painted into the black. This couldn't be natural or from the ground could it? I let out a long sigh. At that moment, I then realized I could NOT let out my breath of air. I went up to go touch my mouth, and could feel what felt like rough cow or deer hide sewed to my lips. A big brick like piece of material was sewed onto my mouth. How in the Lord's name could this happen? Someone was out to get me, and I know it. I walked, in immense fear out of the grove of trees and out into an open plain of grass where a small lake appeared to be. If only I had a boat to carry me across this. The grass was growing knee high in the water, consuming the walking space I needed. I would have to go walk through the woods again, facing what ever might be near to my death.

I reluctantly entered the very rim of the forrest, staying right along the trees to make sure I do not loose sight of the swap-like lake that I need to cross. The trees had gotten too thick, I had to move a few miles south of the Lake back into the terrible wood lands.

My mouth, intensely disturbing me, started to throb with pain. I still had not figured out what the pattern on my hand had meant, and I am desperate with anticipation to find who, or what did this to me. I felt like a prisoner left in the cold with no way of showing help. My voice was dead. Well, at least it was for now. I felt like I was in some lucid nightmare, of me facing a mass murderer, while I just sat there letting him stab and poison me to death. A prisoner, I am, to my own belonging.

It was then, at that time, I saw it.

Saw what? What was it? Or who was it? A quick shadow like image ran behind a large tree the way I was lonelily walking.

Scared. Fear. Picture those emotions running thoroughly through my blood stream, but ten times worse. I knew something is out there, I just do not know what. What if the "thing" is the person or literally thing who did this to me. I stopped after a few more miles of walking taking caution with every step I took. Again I raised my black hand and watched the pattern on my hand, as it seemed to tell me something that I didn't know. What if this is a clue to where I am? Maybe it means something to the thing that imprinted this onto my hand? The question that still remains a haunting to me in my head is why would anyone do this to me? I have a feeling that the reason I am here is a BIG deal.


	3. Nightfall

**Chapter 3**

My purpose to be here seems meaningless. All I remember from the start is me running, running farther and farther from a small little cranny. I am not even quite positive why I was there, or even WHERE is was. My head was pounding, and the blood picked up the speed through my body turning me red. Then I finally came to the cliff, and I went pail.

I still had not figured out what the mysterious figure was, which made me feel very alert to my surroundings. Every whistle of the wind, or crack of a branch, my head would pop up just like a dog waking up to a dog whistle.

I had walked for several hours and had not seen a thing. I started to feel at ease that the shadow was just my imagination. Still, I worried about who or what did that do my hand and mouth. What does this mean? Am I doomed to a punishment of never being found? As a child and into my early teen years I had never done anything out of the ordinary or bad to a single soul. So why would someone do this to me? I have never been here before! I am just a scared young man walking all alone through the "Scary Woods" as I shall now call them. All I hope for is to catch the culprit.

Nightfall started to come, and I had not even thank for half a second about shelter, food, or protection. It is going to get too dark soon for me to build a shelter, but not black enough for me to burry and protect myself. All I can hope for right now is to wake up in the morning with no other damage to me.

Quickly I gathered up a mixture of moss, pine needles and large leaves to protect and burry myself under a very large Cottonwood tree surrounded by small bushes and Pine trees. At this time, I had never felt so cold, as I was lying in welt, cold dirt. Dirt with.. with.. well who KNOWS what is in it? Creepy creatures with thousands of petite legs that crawl all over your face, and eat your eyeballs out, and you are left stranded with no eyesight in the middle of no where with no one other then yourself. The only person you can end up trusting in the world will end up being yourself.


	4. Atirutuk

**Chapter 4**

The sun shawn brightly on my face, almost as if I were to be looking at the sun through a camera lens. I woke up slowly blocking the light from reflecting in my eyes using my black hand. The sun was fully up in the sky, it was noon.

By this time, I had basically crossed the lake like pond that was lying directly in my path. By now, my surroundings looked completely different. The trees were very thick and tall, but they were spread out more. It now was quite easy to see what would lie around me. Who knows what is out there. Still, I am worrying about what is out ahead. It makes my blood boil.

I walked to the direct other side of the lake, turned my back to it, and walk the other direction from it. I walked like I owned the forest, I walked hard, and with a meaning. My mind started to become at ease until I saw that one, terrible, horrifying thing staring it me while standing in front of another large Pine tree.

"You! Yeah you. You know who I am talking to.", I spoke in a rude tempered manner.

"Me. I know you are talking to me. There is no need to yell.", it said peacefully as if it were to be a great leader. The thing standing in front of the tree was very tall, like an ancient tree that had been around for several centuries. It had long, twig like brown legs that resembled tree trunks. Near the top of its head, It had long green needles that looked identical to pine needles. The nose of it stretched out quite long, and hand a small, hideous mouth with wretched teeth. It wore a top covered in leaves that looked to be a combination of a Cottonwood and an Oak tree. I had never laid eyes on such peculiar leaves.

"Who, and what are you?", I said as calm as I could possibly manage.

"My name, is Atirutuk. I am a member of the Nantahala clan.", it said as if it were to be a narrator to a Disney Classics story. At first I thought I was still in a dream, or had taken some strange type of drug, but then I figured I didn't feel good so I new I wasn't loopy or high. I felt scared once again, even though this creature seemed to be good, but this could just be an act. I was in pure and complete awe. Dazzled, in fact. I slowly could feel my jaw drop slowly down as the big beast slowly stomped forward towards me. It walked as if it almost were to have bricks on its feet. It was at that time I realized that some how, or some way, the leather attached to my mouth had fallen to the ground. I picked it up quickly, keeping one eye on the fabric, the other eye on the tree like monster the whole time.

"D-d-d-d-do you know w-w-what this i-is?" I stuttered, as a result of being very frightened. I wonder if it has the ability to manipulate me?

"That is what we call, 'Pakwa'. It is a special material that we grow using the moon." It said with wisdom in his voice.

"The moon? How can you grow using the moon? And HOW did you get this off of me?"

"Yes. The moon. The Nantahala have special abilities, that no human would ever portray."

"But how did you get this off of me?" I asked amazed by his energy. Its breathing, as strong as the wind. Its foot steps, as strong as a mighty earth quake. Its voice, as loud as a rock and roll concert.

"Well we Na-" It got cut off by something. It stopped his warming smile and looked frightened and hallow. The needle like hair on his head turned white, and fell out like it were to weigh a ton. It fell to its knees, still motionless. Quickly it progressed to become very skinny, revealing its skull and bones. His sap green skin turned brown and grey, like mud. Slowly it started oozing, dripping down Atirutuk's face like wax overflowing on a candle, slowly flowing away like acid. His muscles were gone with it too. I stood there, scared, on the verge of tears. My face went bright red, and hot, the white and cold like I had just seen a ghost. It fell over, and it was dead.


	5. Siletz's Revenge

**Chapter 5**

I am not sure what happened back there, I am not even sure I AM sure about what happened. Whatever it was though, it must have been something dark, something evil. In fact, I knew something bad happened there. I absolutely knew it. But what could it be?

I stopped again for a moment and looked at the piece of leather in my hand. I clenched it tightly and then shoved it in my pocket. I glanced up for a moment and saw I would be making my way up a small hill. I got to the top of it and realized the forest would become more dense and covered everywhere with large Evergreen tress, once again. One thing though , I still had not figured out what that weird black mark was on my hand. I though about it for a while, nothing. I couldn't thing of anything logical that could make an imprint like that. It puzzles me. My hand was black, and in the black were small zig zags, like weaving of silk. I do not have a clue what it is.

"He-He-Hello!", A small elf like creature appeared before me. But not the elf you would expect, it looked evil, it resembled a dog.

"Who are you?" I was shocked I had come across another creature. Startled me a little.

"I'm Siletz!" He (I was assuming it was a he) said happily

"What are you exactly?" I said in a puzzled motion?

"I'm an elf. Except I do not look much like an elf though. I am the laughing stock of my clan." He said in a droopy depressed way. By now, I really think I am in a dream. Since when do giant tree creatures, and elves that look like dogs just randomly start talking to you? At this time, I became paranoid. "Let me take a look at your hand?" It said shocked as it looked up at me helplessly. I raised my one hand, the normal one. The "unmarked" one. "No, your other hand! The one on your left." I raised my hand slowly to him, turning it slightly to see the palm of my own hand.

He paced around me several times, stopping at my hand every time. Finally I fully turned my hand and looked at it. Still, my hand was completely black, but the small marks on my hand have magical went away. In replacement of them, paintings of deer's, looked like they were painted by natives. Instead of paint for the deer, my skin was showing through. Up onto my fingers, there was small peoples, painted the same way as the ancient deer. They held large arrows and looked to be running towards something.

"What happened to my hand?" I said shocked once again.

"A spell. Nothing harmful but could affect you mentally." He said happily as if it were to be no big disaster.

"One morning I woke up and that was on my hand but it was all zig zag like. Why is it like an animal now?"

"I changed it to that. The zig zigs cause great pain. And attracts some creatures that you would be best off NOT knowing about."

"Okay. But how do you explain this?: The same morning I woke up and had this on my mouth." I reached deep into my pocket and pulled out the leather strap that was attached to my mouth.

"I do not mean to frighten people. But... I don't think I should tell you."

"Why can't you tell me Siletz? You know you want to." I tried multiple attempts to sucker punch it out of him, but he just could not spill the beans.

"It shall cause me great pain, and I shall suffer consequences if I were tell such a thing." He said with fear, "All I shall say if you want the answer climb this hill, and climb to the basin of that mountain over there." He pointed to a large mountain drenched in snow "Once you arrive there go to the large Cedar tree with the moss growing in a spiral around the tree. Enter inside of it through the hole on the west side (The forest side) and talk to who ever is there. It may be an elf, like me, or it could be something huge, like that Atirutuk person who got killed right in front of you."

"Wait," I said angrily "How do you know about that?"

"I was the one that killed him. If you kept talking with him he would convince you to follow him, then he would kill you himself. Anyways, after you talk to the person, get permission to walk up Lantu basin, which leads to the top of the mountain. Once you get to the top enter the small cottage that lies by the large cliff. Ask the old hag, which is the woman of the north to help you escape this world, and she will tell you in complete detail what happened." He said informatively. Once he was done talking to him, I ran to the top of the hill. I turned around and waved at him quickly, quite frightened that something that small could do damage to something that large. I cam into a clearing for a moment, revealing how tall this "Lantu Basin" actually would be. Plus, I still had to hike to the starting basin of THIS mountain before I could even get to Lantu Basin. At that very second, I become worried.


End file.
